Defend the Block: Jace Howard on Freshman Year of Learning, Developing
6/30/2021 8:45:00 AM | Men's Basketball, Features
On this week's edition of the "Defend the Block" podcast, soon-to-be sophomore Jace Howard discusses the team-first mentality that the Howard family utilizes (10:00), some of his best basketball memories from his childhood (14:30), his evolution as a player heading into his second season in Ann Arbor (20:30), and the opportunity to play for his dad (28:15).
By Brian Boesch
Throughout his childhood, Jace Howard was exposed to basketball at the highest level thanks to his father. While Juwan Howard was wrapping up his playing career and starting his coaching journey, Jace was able to get shots up at various NBA arenas, all while meeting some of the stars of the game, including -- as he describes them -- "Uncle LeBron" and "Uncle D-Wade."
Directly and indirectly, Jace learned a ton about the game of basketball from his father, ultimately leading Jace to play under Juwan here at the University of Michigan. Those childhood lessons were nothing compared to the last 12 months, Jace's first as a college player.
"I learned so much from him and his basketball mind than I ever did before," Jace said on this week's edition of the "Defend the Block" podcast. "That was 18 years, going in, of learning from him in basketball, and that one year, I learned more than I ever had in those 18 years.
"I feel like our basketball relationship has gotten even stronger. Now, he knows my game more, and I feel like I know his coaching style more."
Players, and especially freshmen, learn from everyone and everything around them, and Jace was no exception. He focused on being a great teammate and scout team member, while gleaning from the leaders on last year's team.
"Honestly, I don't think I could have had a better senior or veteran class than I did," he said. "It was really an honor to learn from those guys, and it wasn't too long ago I was looking up to those guys, watching them in March Madness just a couple of years before, and now being able to have the opportunity for them to teach me."
This offseason, Jace is working to claim some of the many minutes left behind by some of the players he was referencing, including potential lottery pick Franz Wagner and other NBA hopefuls Chaundee Brown Jr., Isaiah Livers and Mike Smith. Jace has used those experiences over the last calendar year to set him up for that opportunity.
"I was a little curious to see where I lined up with the guys, and I'd probably say I learned that I wasn't far off at all," he said. "I really felt like I skyrocketed throughout my development of my game.
"I was very pleased with my development on the court and off the court. It gave me a great blueprint of what I wanted to work on this summer."
Even though Jace has only been with the program for a year, he has been around the type of culture that Michigan Basketball has implemented since his father took over as the head coach. Regardless of his role, Jace is confident that the winning will continue.
"We got it from the (Miami) Heat, and it's been beautiful to play out, and I truly believe that it's a recipe for success, and I feel like it's starting to show with our first couple of years here at Michigan," Jace said. "[It's] sort of like a SEAL team. You hold yourself accountable. You accept constructive criticism. You apply it, and you love each other."
